Macro Assignments Winner Patricia Sheley

"This image is one that really painted itself. It was one of those good spaces in time when you simply commit to being in one place long enough to have conversations you might not have heard if you were moving along more quickly. This was in late May of 2012 when early morning light along the ground was constantly being influenced by rising and evaporating ground fog. I had been exploring different potential photos with my camera on a focusing rail. I was using an 85mm f/1.2 lens and extension tubes to allow more intimate work in an area near these flowers. As the sun became stronger, a breeze began fluttering in the petals of this iris just on the periphery of my vision. The light was rapidly becoming too strong and contrasty, so I removed the rail to began to shoot handheld as this Spring dance revealed itself.

"I constantly experiment with any tools available, almost as you would use rags and sticks for brushes. I am not very good at coloring within the lines…I really enjoy the lines drawing their own pictures. As the hue palette was very limited, processing was really about the luminosity. I did basic adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw and then into Photoshop working the tones toward a black and white vision before opening in Nik Silver Efex. Once those values were established, reopening in Photoshop to dodge and burn in Luminosity mode completed the memory.

"It is interesting that as I look at the other files of that morning they all seem overly saturated. At the time I was on the ground enjoying this experience I was seeing in black and white…odd, because I dream in color. I love when an image is able to sustain a memory. This one does that for me, of a quiet time being open to see more deeply."

For every Assignment, the OP editors will select a winning image at the conclusion o the entry period. The winner will be featured on the OP home page and in a blog article about how the photograph was taken. To get your photos into the running all you have to do is submit them.